Book Reviews
We usually read a few books per term to complement our History and/or English studies, mostly historical fiction. After reading two or three chapters together each day, we will go over vocab words and/or use study guides to find simple activities or follow-up questions. While we travel, I thought it would be fun to write a short review after we finish each book.
Here are some of our thoughts on the books we've read so far:
"The Devil's Arithmetic" by Jane Yolen (plus movie)
This book was about a girl who was transported back in time to the Holocaust. The book helped the reader understand what happened in the Holocaust and why we shouldn't forget it. I liked the book because it didn't try to censor things. I didn't like the movie as much because they added random things in, like at the beginning the girl wanted to get a tattoo. (Zorion)
The point of the book was to show you what the Holocaust was about. I didn't like the movie as much as the book because the book was more realistic and the movie left parts out. (Zavian)
"The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
This book was about what life would be for Ojibwa people with a few twists and turns to make it interesting. It was set in 1847, after white settlers came, and shows how hard life was during the winter especially with smallpox. (Zorion)
My favourite part was during the flashbacks. It was very sad at times. It helped me understand more about the culture. (Zavian)
"Two Tickets to Freedom" by Florence Freedman
The book started out with two enslaved people, who were planning to run away. It was about how they got to a safe place and how they had to keep running away to stay safe. It showed how stressful it was and showed a bit about what it was like to be enslaved. (Zavian)
The book showed how hard it was to get away from slavery because everything was against them. It was interesting to learn about the Underground Railroad and how organised it was. (Zorion)
"The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" by John Boyne (plus movie)
The story was about the Holocaust. There was a boy that lived in Berlin, called Bruno. His Dad worked for Hitler who was known as the Führer. His father got a job as the head of a concentration camp. One day Bruno had nothing else to do and liked to explore. So he went for a walk. Bruno wondered why there were so many people wearing the same striped pyjamas over the fence. So he wandered over to the fence and saw a boy sitting there. They started talking and became good friends. Everyday Bruno walked to the fence to talk to his friend Schmel. They could only talk, not play, because they were on two different sides of the fence. The story mainly talked about Bruno who spoke about his life in Berlin. Bruno kept saying "my Dad is great, my Dad is great". But really his Dad killed loads of Jews, or told other people to kill them. The ending was really sad. I thought it was a really smart idea to write a book about the Holocaust from a different perspective. (Zavian)
I liked the "Boy in the striped pyjamas" because it was funny and a little bit foreboding. It was interesting to see the Holocaust from the German point of view. The dramatic irony was interesting because it was different from other books. The irony was that Bruno lived right outside the concentration camp but did not know what it was. Shmuel was my favourite character because he was very nice to Bruno, even though Bruno was very blunt and didn't really listen to Shmuel. The ending was really unexpected because the book was pretty cheerful until that point. (Zorion)
Next on the reading list:
"The Call of the Wild" by Jack London (Alaska)
"Morning Girl" by Michael Dorris (Bahamas)
"Traitors Among Us" by Marsha Forchuk Skypuch (Ukraine)
"Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry (Denmark)
"Words on Fire" by Jennifer A. Nielsen (Lithuania)
"Nanberry" by Jackie French (Australia)
Here are some of our thoughts on the books we've read so far:
"The Devil's Arithmetic" by Jane Yolen (plus movie)
This book was about a girl who was transported back in time to the Holocaust. The book helped the reader understand what happened in the Holocaust and why we shouldn't forget it. I liked the book because it didn't try to censor things. I didn't like the movie as much because they added random things in, like at the beginning the girl wanted to get a tattoo. (Zorion)
The point of the book was to show you what the Holocaust was about. I didn't like the movie as much as the book because the book was more realistic and the movie left parts out. (Zavian)
"The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
This book was about what life would be for Ojibwa people with a few twists and turns to make it interesting. It was set in 1847, after white settlers came, and shows how hard life was during the winter especially with smallpox. (Zorion)
My favourite part was during the flashbacks. It was very sad at times. It helped me understand more about the culture. (Zavian)
"Two Tickets to Freedom" by Florence Freedman
The book started out with two enslaved people, who were planning to run away. It was about how they got to a safe place and how they had to keep running away to stay safe. It showed how stressful it was and showed a bit about what it was like to be enslaved. (Zavian)
The book showed how hard it was to get away from slavery because everything was against them. It was interesting to learn about the Underground Railroad and how organised it was. (Zorion)
"The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" by John Boyne (plus movie)
The story was about the Holocaust. There was a boy that lived in Berlin, called Bruno. His Dad worked for Hitler who was known as the Führer. His father got a job as the head of a concentration camp. One day Bruno had nothing else to do and liked to explore. So he went for a walk. Bruno wondered why there were so many people wearing the same striped pyjamas over the fence. So he wandered over to the fence and saw a boy sitting there. They started talking and became good friends. Everyday Bruno walked to the fence to talk to his friend Schmel. They could only talk, not play, because they were on two different sides of the fence. The story mainly talked about Bruno who spoke about his life in Berlin. Bruno kept saying "my Dad is great, my Dad is great". But really his Dad killed loads of Jews, or told other people to kill them. The ending was really sad. I thought it was a really smart idea to write a book about the Holocaust from a different perspective. (Zavian)
I liked the "Boy in the striped pyjamas" because it was funny and a little bit foreboding. It was interesting to see the Holocaust from the German point of view. The dramatic irony was interesting because it was different from other books. The irony was that Bruno lived right outside the concentration camp but did not know what it was. Shmuel was my favourite character because he was very nice to Bruno, even though Bruno was very blunt and didn't really listen to Shmuel. The ending was really unexpected because the book was pretty cheerful until that point. (Zorion)
Next on the reading list:
"The Call of the Wild" by Jack London (Alaska)
"Morning Girl" by Michael Dorris (Bahamas)
"Traitors Among Us" by Marsha Forchuk Skypuch (Ukraine)
"Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry (Denmark)
"Words on Fire" by Jennifer A. Nielsen (Lithuania)
"Nanberry" by Jackie French (Australia)
Very nice :)
ReplyDelete-Ben (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ